


Author's Notes

by Ampithoe



Series: Mi Chamocha (Who Is Like You) [2]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:08:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27861298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ampithoe/pseuds/Ampithoe
Summary: It's hard to get me to shut up about Judaism. Here are some details about the Jewish background of Mi Chamocha (Who Is Like You) and some of the decisions I made while writing it.
Series: Mi Chamocha (Who Is Like You) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997320
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	Author's Notes

**Author's Note:**

> This contains a spoiler for the minor character death tag on Mi Chamocha (Who Is Like You), so read that first!!!

**Midrash and Fanfic**

Jews have been making fanfic of the Bible for thousands of years. We call it midrash, but it's the same thing as fanfic. It does missing scenes, it fills in backstory and motivation with headcanons, it might follow a character post-canon, and so on. What it doesn't do (at least traditionally) is contradict the Bible, so it's all canon-compliant fan fiction. People still write midrash today, and my story “Mi Chamocha (Who Is Like You)” is in that midrashic tradition. It is both an AU fan fic of Carry On and a midrash on the Book of Exodus (called Shemot in Hebrew). (Modern midrashim sometimes diverge from canon, but I chose to be canon-compliant. I am commenting on the Bible and my complicated relationship to it, not revising it.)

The Torah commands Jews to tell the story of the Exodus and we do so every year at the Passover seder, during which we symbolically re-enact the departure from Egypt. The Haggadah (the liturgy of the seder) says “Even if we are all learned and wise, all elders and knowledgeable in Torah, it is still our duty to retell the story of the going out from Egypt. And the more one tells of the going out, the more praiseworthy.” Ben Bag Bag (an actual ancient rabbi) said of the Torah “Turn it, and turn it, for everything is in it.” I have loved the opportunity to take a really deep dive into the story of the Exodus.

In this retelling of the Exodus story, I wanted to explore what the plagues and Exodus were like for the great mass of Hebrews and Egyptians. The Bible shows us the experiences of Moshe (the Hebrew version of Moses' name), Pharaoh, and their close associates. What was it like for ordinary people who were trying to do their jobs and live their lives and may not have had good information on what was happening and why? I also wanted to describe the plagues in greater detail than the Bible gives  —  there is usually only a sentence or two describing what happened. I wanted to expand on this to make vivid sensory accounts. 

On the Carry On side, I struggled with how to get Baz and Simon together when they are from different cultures and Baz has all the power. I made Baz an Egyptian (because in canon he's from the Egyptian branch of the Pitches) and Simon a Hebrew slave. How do they bridge that gap to become friends and ultimately a couple? My answer is that they can begin to do so when Simon sees that, for all its privilege, Baz’s life has included suffering, but they can’t build a full relationship until the plagues and the Exodus have broken down the social structures that separate them and they are forced to see each other's full humanity. And when Baz starts to see Simon in all his humanity, it drives a wedge between him and fellow Egyptians such as Nil (Niall) who don’t see things that way.

**Sources**

I read through the relevant parts of the Book of Exodus multiple times and referred back to the Bible text often while writing. I prefer the Jewish Publication Society translation and that's what I use for hard copy, but when I'm doing a quick lookup online I use the New International Version, a readable modern-language Christian translation. When I want to know very exactly what something says, I look at the Hebrew. Depending on the word I may just know it, or I may have to look it up. So, for example, when I wanted to know whether the ground they walked on through the Sea of Reeds was muddy or not, I looked and saw that it says " בַּיַּבָּשָׁה " (bayabasha) which means, more or less, "in the dryness". (Yes, I may be preening myself a bit on my Hebrew knowledge.)

**The Historicity of the Exodus**

I do not believe that the Hebrews were actually enslaved in Egypt or that the plagues actually occurred. The Egyptians left an extensive written record and there has been much archaeological exploration in the area. Neither has shown what I consider convincing evidence of the enslavement and Exodus having occurred in the manner described in the Bible. (The story may be a transformation of Egypt's gradual loss of control over the Sinai Peninsula.)

On the other hand, simply because a story is not literally true in a historical sense doesn't mean it's not important. This story is deeply important to the Jewish people. We symbolically re-enact it at the Passover seder every year. We also mention it in every prayer service and in the Friday night pre-meal prayers. We sing the Mi Chamocha, part of the Hebrews' song of triumph at the Sea of Reeds, in every service. It has in fact been fascinating to participate in prayers while working on this fic because the story is brought to mind so often.

**Title**

The title “Mi Chamocha (Who Is Like You)” comes from the Song of the Sea, the song of triumph and exaltation that the Hebrews sing after they cross the Sea of Reeds safely but the waters close over their enemies. The Song is written in a more ancient style of Hebrew than the rest of the book of Exodus; it may be the most ancient text in the Bible. A few lines from it are sung in every Jewish prayer service, including the words Mi Chamocha, which mean “Who is like you?” This phrase is ancient and in some ways embodies the entire Exodus story; it also expresses the way in which Baz and Simon find each other to be unique in the world. “Who is like you?” indeed.

**Homosexuality in Cultural Context**

My scanty Internet research suggests that homosexual activity was not stigmatized in ancient Egypt. Hebrew practice is a different question. The Torah that Moshe receives at Sinai (referred to in the epilogue) includes Leviticus 18:22, “Do not lie down with a man as you lie down with a woman; it is an abomination.” Jewish scholars discuss endlessly whether this refers to all male-male sexual contact, to anal intercourse only, or to specific cultic practices of other Canaanite peoples. Progressive Jews come up with a variety of solutions for how to reconcile this ancient text with our 21st century vision of tolerance. For the purpose of this story, I have simply chosen to ignore the whole matter. Baz and Simon are in love and they belong together, and in my story, no one gives them a hard time either before or after Sinai. Their relationship is taboo because it is cross-cultural but not because it is same-sex.

**Language**

I have written this story as if everyone in it has perfect mutual fluency and indeed they are all speaking the same language. Realistically (if anything about this ahistorical miracle tale is realistic) I think it’s likely that the Egyptians would have spoken Egyptian, and those who dealt with Hebrew slaves might have had a few words of Hebrew. The Hebrews would have spoken Hebrew among themselves (they must still know the language, since they receive the Torah in Hebrew and are able to understand it), and some or all of them would also have spoken pidgin Egyptian for communicating with their overseers. I simplified my storytelling by ignoring this detail.

**The Parting of the Sea**

In popular culture, the sea which is parted for the Hebrews to pass through is commonly called the Red Sea, which is how the King James Version of the Bible translates it. However, the Hebrew, Yam Suf, translates to "Sea of Reeds", and that's how I've rendered it.

One of the most famous midrashim about the Exodus concerns the drowning of Pharaoh and his army in the Sea. In this midrash, the angels, like the Hebrews, sing in joy and triumph at this moment but God rebukes them, saying "My creatures are drowning but you are singing?" In my fic, Baz's grief about Dev, Nil (Niall), and his countrymen stands in for God's rebuke. My apologies to any Deniall fans who I have made sad!

There’s another famous midrash about the Sea of Reeds that I love. It’s said that even after Moshe raised his staff over the waters, they didn’t part right away. It was not until a Hebrew named Nachshon had the courage to start walking into the water, and indeed walked right up to the point where it would have entered his nostrils, that the water pulled away and the way was made clear. It’s a beautiful story, but my assumption is that Baz, Simon, and Eb would have been somewhere in the middle of the enormous crowd and would not have been able to see this happen. So, I’m satisfying myself by telling you about it here instead of using it in the story.

**Names**

I have changed some character names slightly from canon to give them a Hebrew or Egyptian flavor. Penny, Ebb, Mitali, Premal, and Rhys became Peniah, Eb, Mital, Peremal, and Ris. I give Simon's full name as Simon ben Davi, meaning "Simon, son of Davi (Davy)". I can read and write Hebrew and I am confident in these changes. I also altered some Egyptian names: Malcolm, Vera, Daphne, and Niall become Malkom, Wera, Dafne, and Nil. This is total BS on my part and I'm sure would be ridiculed by any Egyptologist. I just didn't want the names to look too European.

Puah, Moshe, Miryam, Aharon, and Avraham all appear in the Bible.

**The Phase of the Moon**

In my story, the moon is full when the final plague occurs and the Hebrews are subsequently driven out. I was trying to decide what phase to make it for best drama, and then I realized that I actually  _ knew  _ what phase it should be. As I said above, we commemorate that last night of slavery on the first night of Passover every year. Passover starts on the 15th of Nisan which, in the lunar Hebrew calendar, is always a full moon. Therefore, we know that the moon was full that night. I just think that's cool!

**Names of God and Capitalization**

The Jewish tradition has many names and terms for God. In the Book of Exodus, God tells Moshe that the Hebrews’ ancestors knew him as El Shaddai but that his name yod-hey-vav-hey was not known to them. I’m spelling the name out  — and indeed, not even giving the actual Hebrew characters  — because modern Jews treat this name with special reverence. It’s the name which Christians render (incorrectly, according to Jewish scholars) as Jehovah or Yahweh. We as modern Jews do not speak the name aloud (indeed, its correct pronunciation is lost to the ages) and if it is written in Hebrew characters we treat the paper or parchment with care and ensure that it is not destroyed. I believe that the Jews of the Exodus would have gone ahead and said the name, but as a modern Jew I am not going to write a story with the name in it. I have generally used either El Shaddai or the English word God. In Chapter Seventeen, when I quote the Song of the Sea, I use Lord, which is the English translation of Adonai, the word that we say instead of saying the name.

I have generally capitalized God when the person concerned is thinking of the God of the Hebrews as their personal God to be worshipped in a singular way. I have left it lowercase when they are not. Baz starts out thinking of “the god of the Hebrews” but eventually takes Adonai as his own God and makes the shift. My take is that the Hebrews did not necessarily dispute the existence of the Egyptian gods, but did not worship them. Simon goes from thinking of Adonai as useless or worse than useless to finally appreciating the wonder of the Exodus (although he’s cantankerous on the subject and I wouldn’t be surprised if he always wonders whether God couldn’t have reduced the collateral damage). 


End file.
